China slams Australia's DeepSeek ban on government devices

The Chinese government has slammed Australia for banning the Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot app DeepSeek on government devices.

The federal government opted to ban the app after it was found to pose national security risks. 

In a statement released on Wednesday night by the Chinese foreign ministry, the move was described as the "politicisation of economic, trade and technological issues", which Beijing said it opposes.

China also strongly denied that the app was being used to collect data. 

"The Chinese government … has never and will never require enterprises or individuals to illegally collect or store data," the statement said.

Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek banned from government devices

The decision follows advice from national security and intelligence agencies that determined the platform posed "an unacceptable risk" to government technology. 

Under the Australian ban revealed on Tuesday, all government bodies, except corporate organisations like Australia Post and the ABC, will be forced to remove all DeepSeek products from their devices effective immediately.

They will also have to block access to DeepSeek products and report back to the government when they have completed it, although employees will be able to use the program on their personal devices.

According to the government, the decision follows advice from national security and intelligence agencies that determined the platform posed "an unacceptable risk to Australian government technology".

South Korea temporarily bans DeepSeek

South Korea has also revealed it will bring in a temporary ban on the use of DeekSeek due to security concerns, according to the country's industry ministry.

The South Korean government issued a notice on Tuesday calling for ministries and agencies to exercise caution about using AI services including DeepSeek and ChatGPT at work, officials said.

State-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power said it had blocked use of AI services including DeepSeek earlier this month. 

The foreign ministry restricted access to DeepSeek in computers that connect to external networks, Yonhap News Agency said. The ministry said it cannot confirm specific security measures.

Read more on DeepSeek: 

The ban makes South Korea the latest government to warn about DeepSeek, after Treasurer Jim Chalmers last month called on Australians to be cautious when using the Chinese AI model.

US officials are also looking at DeepSeek's national security implications.

South Korea's information privacy watchdog plans to ask DeepSeek about how the personal information of users is managed.

DeepSeek's launch of its latest AI models last month sent shock waves through the tech world. The company says its models are on a par with or better than products developed in the United States and are produced at a fraction of the cost.

Tech giant Kakao Corp has told its employees to refrain from using DeepSeek due to security fears, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday, a day after the company announced its partnership with generative artificial intelligence heavyweight OpenAI.

Korean tech companies are now being more careful about using generative AI. SK Hynix, a maker of AI chips, has restricted access to generative AI services, and allowed limited use when necessary, a spokesperson said.

Internet giant Naver said it had asked employees not to use generative AI services that store data outside the company.

AFP/Reuters